


Surprise!

by PinkAngel



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9128947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkAngel/pseuds/PinkAngel
Summary: Where could an impulsive call in the middle of the night, a mystery man, and a whole lot of confusion lead for Brody and Pride? Prody.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MeredithBrody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/gifts).



> This ficlet started as a drabble and turned into BonesBird's (aka MeredithBrody's. Aka Awesome's) birthday present. Happy birthday!!!
> 
> The song the original drabble was based on was 'London Lights' by With Confidence

He needed to get some sleep. Logically, he knew that. Logic didn't have a whole lot to do with anything lately though. As he sat at his desk doing paper work his eyes were drawn once again to the desk across from his. In his mind it would always be Brody's desk. He could still imagine her sitting there. Some days he would look up and expect to see her there, yellow coffee cup in hand, and an amused smirk on her face.

He'd lost agents before for various reasons, but Brody's disappearance wouldn't leave him alone. It wasn't even as if she was gone completely. Every once in awhile he heard from her, but not often enough and with far too few explanations. No one could replace Merri. A fact that became more obvious when, despite them all trying to move on, no one seemed to be able to completely let go.

It had gotten so bad that the last two times she had called him he had almost started confessing every single emotion he'd ever felt that involved her. Some nights, like tonight, he even considered calling her and leaving a voicemail all about how much he missed her, loved her, and wanted her to come home. His better judgement usually kicked in though. That wasn't the kind of conversation you started over the phone, let alone via voicemail.

It would be a bad idea. Probably one that would chase her even further away. And yet....

He dialed the number without thinking, and would later claim it was sleep deprivation. He prepared the words in his head as the phone rang. When the voicemail beeped he would be ready.

" _Hello_?" a tired voice answered.

He remained silent upon hearing the voice. A male voice. It definitely wasn't Brody. There was a man answering her phone in the middle of the night. "Is this Meredith Brody's phone?" he asked, just to make sure.

" _Uh...yeah, I guess it is. Who is this_?"

"A friend."

" _At this time of night_?"

He heard another voice in the background asking who it was. Probably Brody, he realized. "Tell her Pride called. I'll call back later." With that he ended the call and sat back in his chair.

Why should he be surprised? He could never be the person she let answer her phone late at night. He was her boss. Former boss. A friend and former partner. Nothing more and nothing less. He stood up, ready to go attempt some sleep, but stopped when his phone alerted him to a text.

' _It's not what you think. I'll explain later_.'

He wanted to believe it. He really did. After deciding to ignore it for now he started to turn off the light, but his phone vibrated again.

' _Love you_.'

He read the message over. And then over again. It was short and simple and he thought he might be hallucinating.

Maybe Brody was just worse at this than he was.


	2. Chapter 2

"Pride? Isn't he your boss?"

It was too early in the morning for these types of questions. Especially from her father. Merri sipped her coffee before answering. "He was my boss. When I was in New Orleans."

"Does he always call in the middle of the night?"

There was something unspoken to that question. She'd heard it in her father's voice multiple times growing up. Whenever she had mentioned a name that might be a boy's name, or if one called her, or even if he just saw her talking to one he would use that tone of voice. The 'not saying anything outright, but you know I know' voice. Fortunately, she hadn't heard it as much as she probably would have if her parents hadn't sent her and Emily to boarding school. Which was probably why he never actually guessed her relationships correctly.

In this case he was a little too close for comfort though. There was nothing really between her and Pride other than friendship, but near the end of her stay in New Orleans something else had started becoming more obvious. It wasn't anything she'd ever put a name to.

At least not until last night.

She wasn't sure what compelled her to send that last text message. She wasn't even entirely sure why she had sent the first. Why did she care what he assumed from an unknown male's voice answering her phone late at night? It shouldn't matter to her, especially not when they weren't even partners anymore.

And yet it had mattered. For whatever reason she had felt the need to reassure him. Maybe because, deep down, she knew how he felt about her. It had become obvious just before she'd left. The way he had reacted to Russo hadn't been something she could pretend meant something else.

And as another mystery she had sent a text she wouldn't even think about sending many people. I love you? What kind of text was that to send to a former coworker, and worse, former boss? She hadn't been thinking straight. She was sleeping even worse than she normally would. She didn't actually mean it the way he could probably read it as. There were dozens of explanations.

And yet none of them really had any appeal.

The truth of those three little words she texted suddenly hit her.

"Are you alright, Merri?"

Brody nodded distractedly. "Yeah. I'm...I'm fine, dad."

For the first time since she'd left New Orleans she actually meant it. Probably because, for the first time in a long time, she was being honest with herself. The problem was she didn't know where to go from here.   


	3. Chapter 3

Two days passed and Pride couldn't shake the memory of the mystery man answering Brody's phone. He shouldn't be surprised that she had someone new in her life. There was no reason she shouldn't. She had every right to start a new relationship since she was obviously starting everything else anew as well.

_‘It isn't what I think it is_ ,' he reminded himself. Brody had assured him of that, and then there was the last text. She loved him? That kind of confession seemed as out of character for her as if she gave up coffee.

"You alright, King?"

Dwayne looked up from the case file he was skimming and nodded his assurance to Christopher. "Fine, Chris."

"Have you heard from Brody?"

At the question Percy looked over from her desk as well. The probie was following a lead. Supposedly anyway. As much as he wanted to give the newbie the benefit of the doubt, he was running out of patience. What he wouldn't give to have Brody back.

"A couple days ago," he answered before going back to the case file and hoping Chris would take the hint.

Naturally, the younger man decided not to drop it. "What'd she say?"

"It was just a quick text. She didn't say much." It was half-true at least. She hadn't said much, but what she had said was more than an entire conversation could have.

"Is she doing alright?" Percy asked.

Pride sighed and looked up from the file again. Of all the times to not drop a topic....

"Agent Pride?"

Three heads turned to the man standing in the open doorway. It took him a moment to place the face, but by the time he stood from his desk Pride knew exactly who it was. "Mr. Brody."

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Christopher silently mouthing 'Brody' to Percy with a confused look. King walked around his friend and approached the father of his former team member. Paul Brody met him half-way with his hand already extended.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Brody."

"And you, Agent Pride."

Merri may resemble her mother in a lot of ways, but now that he was meeting her father in person King could see something familiar in the man's eyes. The thought only briefly flashed through his mind though, and was quickly replaced with a more pressing one. Why would Meredith's father be visiting? He suddenly couldn't think of any good reason.

"What brings you to New Orleans?" he asked, hoping not to sound too anxious.

"To meet you, Agent Pride." He glanced over Pride's shoulder with a relaxed smile. "It's a bit personal..."

It didn't take a genius to take the hint. Pride looked behind him, and give Chris and Sonja a nod towards the door. This time they got the hint and actually headed for the exit without complaint. Once they were gone he gestured towards the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

"Coffee would be great."

Pride nodded and got a mug down. It was only as he was pouring the, fortunately still hot, coffee that he realized it was Merri's yellow mug. He only hesitated a moment before handing it over. "So what can I do for you, Mr. Brody?"

"You can start by telling me how you feel about my daughter," the other man answered calmly before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Excuse me?"

"Meredith speaks highly of you. I can tell there's something she's leaving out though," Paul explained. "Honestly, I doubt she realized anything until recently. She and her mother are a lot alike when it comes to stubbornness and dealing with their emotions. Do you know how long it took me to get a date with Olivia?" He laughed as if it were just a fond memory now, but Pride doubted he’d been laughing back then.

Pride chuckled as well, but he was still confused about where this conversation was going. "I can imagine. I'm still not sure what you mean though."

"Why did you call my daughter in the middle of the night a couple days ago?"

Pride stared at the man for a moment. "You know about that?"

"I should," he answered amusedly. "I'm the one who answered the phone."

"You did?" He tried to connect the voice he was hearing now to the voice on the phone. It might be similar he realized. If combined with phone distortion.... "That was you." He couldn't help but laugh at that as relief flooded over him.

It had just been her father. It really hadn't been what he'd assumed. So maybe the second text Brody had sent had been true as well.

"It was," the other man confirmed. "Meredith has been staying with us the last few weeks. She...wasn't doing well when she showed up on our doorstep. She's getting better though," he added. "I don't think there's much more Olivia or I can do. If anything she and Olivia are going to wind up killing each other soon."

Pride once again had to chuckle, even if it was only half-hearted. He'd had a feeling Brody hadn't been doing so well, and it had been hard knowing he couldn't do anything if she wouldn't let him, but at least she had been with family.

"She'd left her phone in the kitchen that night, and we both happened to be awake when you called." He didn't expand on that comment, but Pride could read between the lines. Meredith hadn't been able to sleep again and it had probably been a bad night for her. "Now, about why you were calling Meredith so late at night...."

"I was just checking on her," Dwayne assured him.

"Uh huh." Mr. Brody didn't look entirely convinced, but he didn't look upset either. "Look, Pride, I'll make this simple," he added, and Pride almost felt as if he were suddenly one of the older man's students. "My daughter cares about you. She misses you, and New Orleans, even if she will barely admit it. I want my daughter to be happy. If you and this city can accomplish that, than that's fine, but she's already been hurt enough for one lifetime. So if you hurt her...."

"I wouldn't hurt her," King quickly told him. Why he was reassuring the other man he wasn't entirely sure. He'd basically just admitted to having deeper feelings for Merri than he'd ever planned to let on to. "Not that I would have the chance to," he added somberly. "The chances of her coming back here..."

"She'll be here tomorrow."

"What?"

"I'm giving a lecture at UNO tomorrow afternoon. I managed to convince Meredith to come with me and show me around afterwards. She wanted to spend as little time in Louisiana as possible though, so she won't arrive until in the morning. Her plane lands at seven forty-five."

The older Brody pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. Pride unfolded it and glanced over the information quickly. It was the date, time, and terminal information for what he assumed was Merri's flight. "Why are you giving me this?"

"I thought you might like to be the one to pick her up from the airport," Mr. Brody answered with a knowing smile. "If you have the time, of course."

Pride looked down at the piece of paper before meeting the other man's eyes once again. "I'll make time." He knew an opportunity when it was handed to him, and he wasn't stupid enough to let it slip through his fingers. This could possibly be the beginning of something new and wonderful. And even if it didn't go exactly how he would like, at least he could see Merri again and tell her in person how much she was missed.

"I thought you might. Well, Agent Pride..."

"My friends call me King. Or Dwayne," Pride said with a smile as he walked around the kitchen counter.

"Well, King, I should get going. I have a hotel to check into. Maybe you should do some serious thinking before tomorrow."

Pride shook the man's hand with a half-smile. He certainly didn't pull any punches. He was right though, Pride realized. He did have a lot to think about before he saw Merri again. "Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Brody."

"Paul," he corrected.

"Paul. Maybe you can stop by again before you head home."

"If things work out...that might just happen, King. See you later."

Pride watched the man leave with an amused smile. He had a lot of thinking to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Brody rubbed her eyes as she waited for her suitcase. She wouldn't have bothered bringing it along, but she wasn't sure where she'd be heading after showing her father around the city. Going back to her parent's place wasn't too alluring. Where she would go next she had no idea, but she'd figure it out. She usually did.

It seemed like forever before her bag made its appearance. She grabbed it quickly and turned to leave. Her plan was simple. Grab a cab, go to the hotel, take a brief nap, and then meet up with her dad. She wasn't sure why she was so exhausted after the early flight, except possibly for the fact she hadn't slept at all the night before. Or the night before that.

She was about to step outside when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Brody!"

Meredith turned to see King coming her way. "Pride?" Could it just be a coincidence? It could be, but Pride didn't look nearly as surprised to see her as he should be.

 "I was starting to think I'd missed you," he said, confirming her suspicions that he had known she would be here.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She was happy to see him, but she was more curious as to how he knew to meet her here. She'd spent the last couple of days thinking, and avoiding sending him an explanation for her texts. All the thinking hadn't done much good though. She still had no idea what to say. "How did you know I was going to be here?"

"Your father told me," Pride answered. "So I'm here to pick you up, and to see you again. I've missed you, Merri," he added, and there was no way she could doubt his sincerity. It was all there for her to see and hear.

It also wasn't lost on her that he hadn't bothered saying 'we've missed you' instead of speaking only for himself. Somehow that meant more to her than hearing a general 'we miss you'. She'd heard that over and over from all of them. She was still definitely going to have a talk with her father for sending Pride to get her though.

"I've missed you too." She doubted there was a way to convey just how much she missed him and the others. New Orleans was her home, but leaving had been necessary. She wouldn't have been able to heal here, surrounded by all the memories. Time away had helped, and surprisingly enough, time with her parents had even helped as well. She wasn't where she probably should be, but it was progress. "I was going to call you back. I just..."

"You don't have to explain, Brody. I just have one question."

She hesitated before nodding. She'd left without explanation, had avoided him and the others, and then texted something he probably hadn't expected. She supposed he deserved the chance to ask a question. "Go ahead."

"Did you mean it?"

He didn't have to say anything else for her to know what he was asking about. If it were the other way around she would probably want to know the same thing. Or would ignore it all together. It was easier getting the words out when he hadn't been there to stare at her though. The other night she'd been sleep deprived and had made an impulsive move. Could she be as honest with herself, and him, when he was right in front of her?

She hesitated. The words just weren't coming. "I..."

Finally, she gave up on words completely. Instead she grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand, the back of his head with the other, and kissed him. He didn't pull away and didn't hesitate to return the kiss. By the time she pulled away his arms were wrapped around her waist and there was barely any space left between them.

"Yeah, I meant it," she answered softly.

The next thing she knew Pride's lips were on hers again.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the ending.

Even after five months, the sound of Merri's laughter greeting him as he entered the bar was enough to make him grin. They'd gotten into a routine the last few months. Since Brody hadn't wanted to return to NCIS when she first moved back to New Orleans, she had taken a consulting position with the NOPD. It meant that, most days, she had the evenings free. In an effort to fight boredom, and avoid thinking too much, she would drop by the bar to help out.

Meeting her here after work had become the bright spot in his day. Paul insisted she was doing better since coming back to New Orleans, but Pride knew for a fact that he was doing better since she returned as well. Everything seemed to be fitting perfectly together again. There was only one thing left to work out.

As he walked up behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist. She tensed for a moment before realizing who it was. A smile spread over his face as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. It was wonderful having her back, but it was even better having her back without having to hide his feelings anymore. Though it had taken some adjusting, everyone seemed accustomed to their relationship now.

"Finish off the case?" she asked while turning around to face him.

Pride nodded. "Got it all wrapped up. The others will probably be around in an hour or so."

"Good." She smirked lightly and pulled him close for a quick kiss. "It'll give us a little time to talk first."

"Speaking of which..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the surprise he had for her. He turned the badge over in his hand so she could see it fully. It had taken a lot of late night conversations, but they'd both finally agreed that this was the right thing to do. He was still a little concerned she was moving too fast, but she was convinced it was time. Unfortunately it had been harder to convince the director. Especially considering the status of his and Meredith's relationship. "I got the notification this afternoon. You're being reinstated. Congratulations, Agent Brody."

"Agent Brody..." Merri chuckled as she took the badge. "It's been awhile since I've heard that."

"Happy?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"You have no idea."

There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that made him hesitate for a moment. He brushed it off as paranoia though. "Buckley's going to miss you helping out around here." He said it jokingly, but it was no secret she and Buckley had gotten to become good friends. He was sure Buckley really would miss having her around so much.

Merri only smirked more as she looked the old badge over. "Maybe I can drop by and visit once in awhile once I go on maternity leave," she said nonchalantly.

It took him a minute to fully process what she said. The words spun around in his head before finally connecting. The emotions that suddenly hit him were only comparable to when Linda told him about her pregnancy.

Brody was pregnant.

He was going to be a father again.

He and Merri were having a baby.

"You're pregnant?" he finally managed to get out. The grin that spread over his face, along with the way his grip tightened on her waist, was probably a pretty good hint that he really was happy about this.

Merri returned the smile, but he didn't miss the subtle doubt in her eyes. "According to five different pregnancy tests."

"Merri...." Words couldn't describe how he felt. There was nothing he could say that would tell Meredith just how much he loved her, and how much he would love their child. So he gave up trying to find the words. Instead he pulled her close and kissed her with every ounce of passion, love, and happiness he could put into the single act while in public.

She returned the kiss just as fervently, and to the point that Buckley gave them a catcall upon walking back into the main bar. They reluctantly pulled apart, mostly so they could breathe, and laughed as Buckley winked at them in passing.

"Told him the good news than, huh?" Buckley asked.

Pride looked at Merri. "You told him first?"

"Who do you think went and got the tests while I was throwing up in the bathroom? I would have called Loretta, but...."

"I love you," he interrupted, unable to stand going any further without reminding her of that.

"I know," she replied with a smile. "I love you too."

He pulled her into his chest and held her tightly, just needing to feel her close to him. She held him in return and neither of them seemed to be in a hurry to let go. They'd spent too much time apart already. He would never let that happen again. He had a feeling he wouldn't have to worry about it though, because he would never let Merri doubt how much she was loved. They were all one big happy family, and soon there would be one more family member to love. Life couldn’t get much better than this.


End file.
